// Category Archive for: Retrovirus

Blu-Ray Review: The Pawnbroker

By Brad Henderson

I first witnessed Sidney Lumet’s work when I was a young kid and saw 12 Angry Men. It was the first non-horror black and white film that I saw and I’ve loved it ever since. Sidney Lumet has made some great films: Dog Day Afternoon, Network, Deathtrap, Serpico. When I heard that Olive Films was releasing The Pawnbroker (a film I hadn’t seen) I was stoked because Lumet hasn’t disappointed me yet.

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Music Review: Peter Murphy, Should The World Fail To Fall Apart (reissued, remastered, expanded)

By Jeffery X Martin

It’s 1986 and for many, Goth is dead. Suck on that irony for a moment.

Bauhaus has disbanded and Peter Murphy is looking for a new musical direction, but one that won’t alienate his core fanbase. It’s a difficult task, and song choice is of the highest importance. The result is a strange little album called Should the World Fail to Fall Apart, a mixed bag of brave decisions, not all of which work.

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VHS Visions: Girlfriend From Hell (1990)

By Brad Henderson

Girlfriend From Hell might have been released in 1990 but it has the ’80s written all over it. With its ’80s-sounding soundtrack and ridiculous comedic aspects, it falls into place with many other gems from back then but still holds up today.

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Blu-Ray Review: Thirst

By Brad Henderson

All film fans should explore movies made during the “Ozploitation” era of Australian low budget filmmaking. Just about every film that came out during this time is fantastic. Many people have probably seen these films and are just unaware of the term Ozploitation or what movies fit this description.

The term Ozploitation was coined after the R rating was introduced in Australia in 1971. I’m not sure if people thought such films were just being created to make money or to push limits like other “ploitation” films but that wasn’t the case. Even to this day there are Ozploitation films released and they still carry out the feel, look, brutality, and the hilariousness.

There is something about these films in particular that stands out from the rest. Most of them are absolutely beautiful. Everything is shot and framed perfectly. Films like Razorback, Wolf Creek, Road Games, Dark Age, and others are just spectacular. The action flicks are action packed and the horror films are suspenseful and don’t follow the normal formula that other countries’ horror films do. Of course, we have great and wonderful films elsewhere but Ozploitation is something special and sadly, nearly forgotten about.

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DVD Review: Lust For Freedom

By Brad Henderson

I’ve never been a big fan of Troma so I’ve only enjoyed a small number of the films among their extensive catalogue. Some Troma films pop up occasionally that I’ve never heard of but I still give them a chance even though they usually leave a bad taste in my mouth. Recently I came across a film called Lust For Freedom released by Vinegar Syndrome. It’s a Troma release from back in the day directed by the guy who brought us the sequels to Class of Nuke ‘Em High. As we know, Troma hasn’t been doing well lately and I think they’ve been licensing their films to other companies. Now Vinegar Syndrome has reissued this movie and they didn’t pick up one of Troma’s pieces of trash, either.

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The Boozer Reviewer: Marilyn And The Senator

By Brad Henderson

Disclaimer: This review was written under the influence of alcohol. Mind the typos.

As you probably already know, I’m in love with Vinegar Syndrome. Their releases are phenomenal. Along with their genre releases, they specialize in vintage porn . . . a lot of vintage porn. I’ve watched a lot of films from their catalogue but I haven’t delved into their hardcore section because it isn’t my thing. I’m not denying that I watch porn because that would be a total lie. I do watch porn just like every other male and female. (Oh you know you do, shut up.)

Now I have never watched vintage porn from the ’60s and ’70s. I’ve seen short clips and whatnot but have never dived into it. However, I did tonight—right now, actually. I’m writing this review while I watch a vintage hardcore porno called Marilyn and the Senator with my second White Russian in front of me.

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Music Review: Blancmange, Happy Families too…

By Jeffery X Martin

Remember back in 1998 when Gus Van Sant remade Psycho? That wasn’t necessarily a bad idea. Lots of things get the remake treatment. Van Sant’s version only raised a fuss because it was practically a shot-for-shot remake of the original, with very little changed. It was perceived as a sweet—although odd—gesture, more homage than remake. Ultimately, though, people asked the question, “What was wrong with the original?” Hitchcock’s thriller remains a classic. Van Sant’s changeling has been relegated to being nothing more than a curiosity.

There is a grave similarity between that project and Blancmange’s Happy Families too… which is original band member Neil Arthur’s complete re-recording of their breakthrough album, Happy Families. Originally recorded in 1982, that album included the band’s first big hit, “Living on the Ceiling.” It may not be a classic album, but it is a solid effort with very little filler.

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DVD Review: Don’t Ask Me Questions: The Unsung Life of Graham Parker and The Rumour

By Jeffery X Martin

Read Cait Brennan’s interview with Graham Parker.

At the end of the Seventies, a British gas station attendant, who was also a musician, got his record played on the radio. The next day, he had a contract offer from a major record label. Overnight success? A Cinderella story? Not quite.

The Kickstarter-backed documentary Don’t Ask Me Questions chronicles the rise, fall, and rise of Graham Parker and the Rumour, a band whose contemporaries included Elvis Costello and Squeeze. Their big US hit was “Local Girls,” one of the earliest videos to be played on MTV.

When their first album, Howling Wind, came out in 1976, the critical acclaim was instant and practically universal. They were widely regarded as the best live act in Britain. That doesn’t necessarily lead to stellar album sales, though, and as Parker says, “Everything was just a bit off.”

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VHS Visions: Hide And Go Shriek

By Brad Henderson

There is a feeling of satisfaction that many have received when dabbling in horror and falling in love with it. Hide and Go Shriek has a plot that will always give me goosebumps. As soon as you tell me there is a horror film with a group of high school or college students that goes camping, hitchhiking, to a summer camp, a sleepover, the mall, or in this case, a furniture store, I’m completely down. I honestly don’t need to know more than that and I couldn’t care less what the plot is about. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to impress us and we love these types of films.

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Blu-Ray Review: No Holds Barred

By Brad Henderson

When I was little I saw the cover for No Holds Barred countless times but never watched it because I really wasn’t into wrestling. When I was in my early teens I got a little into wrestling for a year or so, but then just got bored with it all. So as you can see, I’ve never been into wrestling and just don’t understand its following.

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